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Utah: Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

121 images Created 8 Jun 2011

Hike wonderfully wild desert and slot canyon scenery in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah, USA. Drive mostly via dirt roads (often impassible when wet). These photos by Tom Dempsey are from recommended hikes to Lower Calf Creek Falls, Zebra and Tunnel Slot Canyons, Willis Creek slot, Cottonwood Wash Narrows along Cottonwood Road #400, Bull Valley Gorge, Rimrock Hoodoos, and the Cockscomb. See Heritage House, an 1895 Queen Anne-style Victorian home in Kanab, a town known for USA’s first all-woman town council (1911) and "the greatest earth on show."

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  • Zebra Slot Canyon, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA. From Hole-in-the-Rock Road, hike east on a well-trodden but unmarked path, 5 miles round trip with 450 feet total gain to Zebra Slot. Multiple overlapping photos were stitched to make this panorama.
    20.10US1-0208-219-Pano.jpg
  • Lower Calf Creek Falls in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA.
    94UT-07-02_Lower-Calf-Creek-Falls.jpg
  • A hiker crosses Willis Creek in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, near Cannonville, Utah, USA
    06UT_6002_Willis-Creek_Grand-Stairca...jpg
  • A hiker chimneys up the narrow walls of Zebra Slot Canyon, in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA. Directions to unmarked trailhead for Zebra and Tunnel Slot Canyons: From Escalante town, drive 6 miles east on Highway 12, turn right on Hole-in-the-Rock Road, drive 7.8 miles to the third cattle guard and park on west side of road. Hike east on well-trodden but unmarked path, 5 miles round trip to Zebra Slot, plus an optional 3 miles round trip to Tunnel Slot (750 feet gain over 8 miles), using map from GSENM Visitor Center or canyoneeringusa.com.
    1303UT-2019_Zebra-Slot_Grand-Stairca...jpg
  • Brown sand on dried clay shards in Dry Fork Coyote Gulch. Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA.
    20.10US1-0008.jpg
  • Two natural bridges decorate the entrance of Peekaboo Gulch in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    20.10US1-0031-38-Pano.jpg
  • Two natural bridges decorate the entrance of Peekaboo Gulch in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA.
    20.10US1-0025.jpg
  • Two natural bridges decorate the entrance of Peekaboo Gulch in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA.
    20.10US1-0026.jpg
  • A water-carved hole in Peekaboo Gulch in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA.
    20.10US1-0040.jpg
  • Scalloped sandstone in Peekaboo Gulch in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA.
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  • Scalloped sandstone in Peekaboo Gulch in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA.
    20.10US1-0048.jpg
  • Scalloped sandstone in Peekaboo Gulch in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    20.10US1-0052-54-Pano.jpg
  • Scalloped sandstone in Peekaboo Gulch in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA.
    20.10US1-0061.jpg
  • A water-carved hole in Peekaboo Gulch in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    20.10US1-0064-66-Pano.jpg
  • A Datura flower blooms in Dry Fork Coyote Gulch at the entrance to Peekaboo Gulch in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA. The Datura genus is in the Potato (Solanaceae) Family, also known as the Deadly Nightshade Family. Its large, white, trumpet-shaped flowers bloom March through November. Corollas are up to 6 inches long, have 5 teeth and are often tinged with purple or lavender around the edges. The flower opens after dusk then usually closes by mid-morning.
    20.10US1-0068.jpg
  • Driftwood hangs high in Spooky Gulch in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA. We hiked from the Lower Trailhead of Dry Fork Coyote Gulch to the slot canyons of Peekaboo Gulch and Spooky Gulch, looping back via Dry Fork (5.7 miles round trip) to a bench trail. (Instead, I recommend starting at the Upper Trailhead, to cover similar mileage, to further transit the coolness of Dry Fork, and to save 10 minutes of side road driving time.)
    20.10US1-0117.jpg
  • Knobby sandstone in Spooky Gulch in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA. We hiked from the Lower Trailhead of Dry Fork Coyote Gulch to the slot canyons of Peekaboo Gulch and Spooky Gulch, looping back via Dry Fork (5.7 miles round trip) to a bench trail. (Instead, I recommend starting at the Upper Trailhead, to cover similar mileage, to further transit the coolness of Dry Fork, and to save 10 minutes of side road driving time.)
    20.10US1-0133.jpg
  • A lizard clings to a wall of Dry Fork Coyote Gulch in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA. We hiked from the Lower Trailhead of Dry Fork Coyote Gulch to the slot canyons of Peekaboo Gulch and Spooky Gulch, looping back via Dry Fork (5.7 miles round trip) to a bench trail. (Instead, I recommend starting at the Upper Trailhead, to cover similar mileage, to further transit the coolness of Dry Fork, and to save 10 minutes of side road driving time.)
    20.10US1-0141.jpg
  • Dry Fork Coyote Gulch in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA. We hiked from the Lower Trailhead of Dry Fork Coyote Gulch to the slot canyons of Peekaboo Gulch and Spooky Gulch, looping back via Dry Fork (5.7 miles round trip) to a bench trail. (Instead, I recommend starting at the Upper Trailhead, to cover similar mileage, to further transit the coolness of Dry Fork, and to save 10 minutes of side road driving time.) To license this Copyright photo, please inquire at PhotoSeek.com.
    20.10US1-0143.jpg
  • Sandstone patterns along trail to Zebra Slot Canyon, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA. From Hole-in-the-Rock Road, hike east on a well-trodden but unmarked path, 5 miles round trip with 450 feet total gain to Zebra Slot.
    20200918_090320.jpg
  • Sandstone patterns along trail to Zebra Slot Canyon, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA. From Hole-in-the-Rock Road, hike east on a well-trodden but unmarked path, 5 miles round trip with 450 feet total gain to Zebra Slot.
    20200918_090804.jpg
  • Swirling sandstone pattern along the trail to Zebra Slot Canyon, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA. From Hole-in-the-Rock Road, hike east on a well-trodden but unmarked path, 5 miles round trip with 450 feet total gain to Zebra Slot.
    20.10US1-0164.jpg
  • A hiker uses friction to stem over a pool of green water in Zebra Slot Canyon, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA. From Hole-in-the-Rock Road, hike east on a well-trodden but unmarked path, 5 miles round trip with 450 feet total gain to Zebra Slot.
    20.10US1-0173.jpg
  • In fall 2020, Zebra Slot had eroded into the very narrow passage shown here, which my slender 5 ft 8-inch body could still squeeze through; but some hikers needed to use chimneying technique here to reach the most beautiful striped rocks just beyond. Zebra Slot Canyon, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA. From Hole-in-the-Rock Road, hike east on a well-trodden but unmarked path, 5 miles round trip with 450 feet total gain to Zebra Slot.
    20.10US1-0179.jpg
  • Zebra Slot Canyon, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA. From Hole-in-the-Rock Road, hike east on a well-trodden but unmarked path, 5 miles round trip with 450 feet total gain to Zebra Slot.
    20.10US1-0212-p5.jpg
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